Dating an actor is even worse, says Richa Chadda

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Dating an actor is even worse, says Richa Chadda

Richa Chadda, 26, is basically a softie, who likes to put up a tough exterior as a part of her defence, so people don’t mess with her. She lives in Mumbai alone with just her cat. While, inherently, she considers herself quite clumsy and jhalla, she wears heels to look poised. She is a fundamentalist when it comes to being secular, as her parents were victims of the Khalistan riots and had to migrate to Delhi as a result. Ahead of her upcoming film 'Fukrey', in which she plays the role of the bholi Punjaban, she talks to TOI about her connection with Shah Rukh Khan, why she would never marry an actor and why Anurag Kashyap will always remain special for her. Excerpts:

When did you realise you wanted to be an actor? My father is a Hindu Punjabi and my mother a Bihari. I was born in Amritsar in 1986, the time of the Khalistan riots. Being non-Sikhs, we were targeted and when I was just a year-and-a-half, we had to move to Delhi. My father was a reader at the university, which is an extremely senior position in teaching, but he had to leave everything and start from scratch in Delhi. That’s why I am so fundamentalist, when it comes to being secular. I feel everyone in India, at some point, has faced some kind of discrimination, be it based on religion or caste or even being dark or fair. My parents are both teaching; my mum in Delhi University and my dad runs his own corporate training firm. My parents have always been positive and never spoke about it to me, but I remember once when I was in class VI, a Kashmiri boy rang our bell. He had come with a pamphlet, saying, ‘Please donate as I am a refugee’. I felt really bad, as he was my age. But my mom said, ‘Don’t bother,’ and asked me to shut the door. I felt heartbroken. And then she said, ‘
Beta we are also refugees, but had to start from scratch. At least, this boy has a refugee camp that the government has provided. We had nothing.’ That was her way of dealing with it.

How did you get into films? From when I was four, I wanted to be in films. My parents always taught me the value of being generous. For me, being an actor was being generous as you are always giving. As a kid, if I found my friends or cousins upset, I would make them laugh by acting like a clown. And I realised through acting, you can give so much to people. I scored 82% marks and got admission at St Stephen’s in Arts. I always felt that had I scored more, my parents would have nudged me towards studies, so I never studied more than a quarter of what I should have. I joined Sophia College, as it was the shortest media course in India, after which my parents were keen that I become a TV journalist. I took up a job briefly in a men’s magazine and remember chasing Abhay Deol for an interview. He told me, ‘I will do the interview but I want a cover.’ I said I don’t know about cover, but we can give you a good spread inside. He told me,
‘Koi baat nahi. Ek do picture hit ho jayegi to cover de dena. Ok bye.’ Exactly a year later, I did O
ye Lucky! Lucky Oye! with him. In Delhi I had worked with Barry John, who had, by that time, also moved to Mumbai. I started doing a play with him
Baghdad Ka Ghulam, the same one Shah Rukh did with him. It is considered a lucky play and I was spotted in it too and got cast in
Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! It was released two days after 26/11 and I was heartbroken seeing only three people watching the film in a hall that I went to, even though over time it did well. I then auditioned for
Dev D, but Kalki got selected over me on merit. However, Anurag promised me a role in his next. I had read that if you have a tear in your right eye, it is a tear of happiness and if it is from your left eye, it is of sorrow. On August 15, 2010, I was feeling low and went with my girl friends to Lonavala for the weekend, when I got a call from Anurag saying,
‘Meri picture mein main lead karegi kya?’ The feeling was surreal, as a tear dropped from my right eye.

Has life changed after Gangs Of Wasseypur? When I see big crowds, my hands grow cold and they start to shiver. I can act, so it does not show, but all my life I have scrutinised people saying I saw X without makeup and Y has put on so much weight and Z seems to be making out more… so, I feel it’s karma and it’s coming back to me, as today people must be saying the same things about me. I used to love going to my vegetable vendor and haggle with him. But since most vegetable sellers are
Biharis, I cannot haggle with them anymore as they have all seen
Gangs Of Wasseypur. Once I told him, ‘Why are you selling cabbage to me for 40 a kg when it is available at 30?’ He turned around and told me,
‘Kya madam, award
lene ke baad bhi magaj mari karte ho?’ I was really irritated.

Have you dated someone seriously?

I was seriously seeing an older doctor, while I was in Sophia hostel. I had hurt my knee and he was a physio, who lived in Pune. I realised he liked me, when he continued coming even after my treatment was over. We were seeing each other for three years, but being an actor, you need someone who has a lot of patience and can cope with your lifestyle. Of course, dating an actor is even worse, as the levels of temptations for a male actor are extremely high. I don’t know who I will marry, but I don’t think actors should see actors. Two good-looking people in a beautiful location pretending to be in love. What do you think is going to happen?

Are there any directors you want to work with?

I really like Imtiaz Ali and Raju Hirani. Imtiaz has something magical in his filmmaking. We all want to be in films, because we want to reach out to more people, otherwise we could have done theatre. Raju Hirani is where art meets mart.

Is there a target you have for yourself?

After
Oye Lucky... I had the luxury of being able to take money from my parents whenever I needed it, as against having to do bad films to sustain myself. I am hoping for the day when I could buy my parents a property that is tailormade for them and surprise them. That’s my big ambition. I don’t know when I will be able to fulfill it, but I know I will.

End of the article

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Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by marking them offensive. Let's work together to keep the conversation civil.